Modern Family's Sarah Hyland clearly had the time of her life filming the remake of '80s classic Dirty Dancing.

US network ABC has put together a dream team to put a new spin on the Patrick Swayze musical, with Scream Queen's Abigail Breslin playing Baby and newcomer Colt Prattes as Johnny Castle.

The all-star cast also features Debra Messing as Baby's mum and the teen's sister Lisa is played by Sarah Hyland, who has revealed how excited she was to work with Abigail Breslin.

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"I first heard of the remake of Dirty Dancing when it was announced that Abigail [Breslin] and Debra [Messing] were doing it," she said. "I was excited and I thought Abigail was perfectly cast as Baby and Debra is just so great. I was interested to know how the remake was going to be, especially since it was being made as a musical. I thought it would be really great to be a part of, but I didn't even ask, stupidly. I don't know why.

"But then the script came in and I read it and it blew me away because not only is a musical, but it's an expanded version of Dirty Dancing and you get to see these characters in a way that you've never gotten to see them before. You actually get to see Lisa and Marjorie and Jake go through so much more than you get to see in the film, and I think that's what made me so excited about it."

Part of Sarah Hyland's excitement for the new Dirty Dancing was seeing long-time friend Abigail Breslin take on such an iconic movie role.

"Fun fact: I have known Abi for 19 years. We met in New York," she remembered. "Her older brother and I used to audition together, so we would always play in the park.

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"Abi was 1 and I was 6, so I always looked at her like a little sister. I remember her first job still. It was like a Toys'R'Us commercial or something. I am so excited to be playing her big sister because I really look at her as a little sister and she is just so wonderful.

"She is so professional. It's really great to finally work with her and not just to be friends. I have never seen anyone just go full out every single time... She's a force to be reckoned with."

Remaking a classic always invites comparisons, but Sarah seems confident that Dirty Dancing 2017 will stack up quite well with the 1987 version.

"It feels amazing to be part of this remake of Dirty Dancing," she said. "The original movie will stand the test of time and everyone loves the musical that was on West End. I missed it at the Pantages and I was so upset that I missed it. It was actually right before I was cast in this.

"This is completely different than either one of them. It still follows the same story, but I think it's so much more heartfelt because you really get to see these characters for who they are and why they are like that. I am so privileged and honoured to be part of something like this, even [if] it is the smallest way possible."

Whether the British public agrees with Sarah Hyland about Abigail Breslin's casting remains to be seen. When Dirty Dancing aired in the US last month, both the film and Breslin's performance were mauled by critics and viewers.

Dirty Dancing struts its stuff in the UK on Channel 5 on Sunday (June 11) at 6.25pm, following a very special airing of Footloose at 4.15pm.